Ponder v. Austin Montessori School, Inc., 1:25-cv-00615

Plaintiffs Ross and Sarah Ponder, on behalf of themselves and their minor children, sued Austin Montessori School (AMS) and two individuals after their children were expelled, alleging state and federal law violations.
Their initial state court petition asserted claims of negligence, breach of contract, fraud, civil conspiracy, and violations of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Defendants removed the case to federal court based on the presence of federal claims, invoking federal question jurisdiction.
Plaintiffs amended their complaint to remove all federal claims, leaving only state law causes of action.
Plaintiffs then filed an unopposed motion to remand the case back to state court, as no federal claims remained.
The Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation to remand the case to the Texas state court, as the federal court no longer had subject matter jurisdiction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Should the case be remanded to state court after all federal claims are dropped?	Ponder argues that, with no federal claims, the federal court lacks subject matter jurisdiction and must remand.	AMS agrees that remand is appropriate since only state claims remain.	Remand granted; case to return to state court.

Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375 (federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and the party asserting jurisdiction bears the burden)
Int'l Primate Protection League v. Adm’rs of Tulane Educ. Fund, 500 U.S. 72 (a removed case must be remanded if federal jurisdiction is lacking at any time before final judgment)
Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140 (failure to object to a magistrate’s findings waives appellate review)
Douglass v. United Servs. Auto. Ass'n, 79 F.3d 1415 (clarifies review of magistrate judge’s report and objections)